"Pie, he says. As if the monks left a fruit tree for such things." The cook scoffs and mutters to herself as the party exits the kitchen. Estara confirms that the bound up monks remain unconcious in the courtyard, showing no sign of stirring.
Skivven detects no magic in the pantry before moving on. The chef appears to have completely put the party out of her thoughts by that point.
Opening the door on the far side of the alcoves reveals a malachite statue dominating a shadowy hallway. It depicts a serene woman with seven eyes, sitting cross-legged and reading a book. Benches line the walls.
Unfortunately, slapping the head monk only leaves him deeper in unconsciousness.
Grunjar successfully identifies the statue of Irori, markedly austere, which is no surprise given the monastery grounds. The construction is simple and utilitarian, with decoration mostly provided by the well tended and organized plantlife.
As Skivven creeps down the hallway, the silence is deafening, making it very easy to notice a voice breaking it. As the other Pathfinders enter the darkened hall, a whisper echoes out. "I see theives!
As Inga looks around, the whisper rings out again, appearing to come from the statue of Irori. "I see thieves!"
Daedin sneaks up to the statue at the far end, but sees nothing around it or the door to the left. "I see thieves!"
Grunjar does indeed detect a magical aura around the statue, seeming to confirm his suspicions. The voice continues to repeat, until it stops after the sixth iteration.
As expected, the aura is of the illusion school.
A winding balcony corkscrews up this library, spiraling seven times before it reaches the roof some eighty feet above. Bookshelves line every wall from floor to ceiling, brimming with crumbling tomes, tablets, and scrolls. Shafts of light descend from the stained glass ceiling, sparkling with paper dust. Two modest desks stand in the brightest light, each with a chair, a pile of tomes, a sheet of blank parchment, and an inkpen. The air feels unnaturally dry.
Skivven waves his wand in an arc, the spell detecting magical auras within. However, Skivven also detects the arrival of three figures as they leap from the balcony above to land in fighting stances in the middle of the library. Dressed much as the monks outside, the woman with the two men wears a holy symbol of Irori as a binding for her jet black ponytail. She gestures towards you, before pointing to the floor.
|
Inga gazes upward in awe at the towering library and its impressive collection of books.
"By the spirits. Where did all of these books come from?" she wonders.
"Well, we were sent to find a manuscript. This looks like the place to start. Shall we check the books on those tables first?"
Her footsteps echoing throughout the massive–and quiet–library, Inga moves slowly towards the central tables, keeping an eye out for danger.
Klaus follows close behind.
Inga notices her footsteps stop echoing as she crosses into the midpoint of the library, her words no longer audible either. Skivven notices the monks landing is equally silent.
|
|
"Oh, wonderful." she says sarcastically with a roll of her eyes to Klaus, yet no sound comes from her mouth.
She grabs Klaus by the arm and pulls him back towards the door where she can speak.
"That area is under the effects of a, most likely permanent, silence spell. The librarians sure did take 'please be quiet in the library' seriously."
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
*GM finishes buffering*
Skivven makes it outside of the silence spell to cry out thanks to his quick reaction! At a gesture from the woman, one of her companions springs toward Inga, striking out with a fist!
23 Green
21 Estara
21 Blue
19 Red
17 Skivven
15 Daedin
14 Inga (Damage: 4NL, Fort Save needed)
10 Drusilla
8 Grunjar
6 Klaus[/spoiler]
|
|
"This library is really..."
Inga suddenly gets sucker-punched out of nowhere.
As blood pours out of her mouth, she bends over and cups a hand under her mouth, making sure she didn't lose any teeth.
she curses as she holds the loose tooth in with her tongue.
"Bithch knocked my toof looth!"
Rubbing her jaw in pain and shaking her head to regain her senses, she turns to Klaus and narrows her brow in anger.
"Klauth! Kill that thucking bithch!!!"
As Inga dodges aside of the first monk, the remaining two move up to press the attack! The other man attempts to drive his fist into Klaus' solar plexus with a stunning strike!
"Surrender, theives!" the woman demands, coming out of the silence zone, as she aims a kick at Inga's leg, the pain of the strike radiating down the limb and threatening to hamper her speed.
23 Green
21 Estara
21 Blue
19 Red
17 Skivven
15 Daedin
14 Inga (Damage: 10NL)
10 Drusilla
8 Grunjar
6 Klaus (Damage: 1) Fort Save needed!
|
"Surrender, theives!" the woman demands, coming out of the silence zone, as she aims a kick at Inga's leg, the pain of the strike radiating down the limb and threatening to hamper her speed.
Hearing the accusation, Grunjar shakes his head and sighs. "Again? Really?" He moves forward to the door, presents his holy symbol and states once more in a firm voice:
"I am Grunjar, a cleric of Desna, and I have never stolen a book from you! Maybe instead of unnecessary violence we can talk about what happened here?"
The woman looks hard at Grunjar's holy symbol before holding back both of the other monks. "Explain yourselves! I sense no evil among you, but thieves are not always easily sniffed out. Why did they flee instead of laying down arms?" She gestures to Skivven and Klaus.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Huh. You are using detect evil on us, but you are casting it without components. As far as I know that's something only paladins can do. So... you are a paladin of Irori?"
Grunjar pauses briefly to absorb that news, then continues.
"Well, when we entered the courtyard and greeted the monks there, just talking to them, we were attacked by them and had to defend ourselves. The master seems to be under some kind of enchantment, because he would not even try to listen to reason - unlike you. We subdued them, but we also went out of our way to not kill anyone - so you have no need to worry, they are all alive. Unfortunately, I could not break the enchantment...
So after that experience, can you really blame our scout to flee instead of laying down arms - especially as you attacked first and talked later?"
|
|
Inga hops on one leg while holding the other.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow!"
"Okay! We surrender!" she calls out, putting her hands up in the air and shaking her leg, waiting for the throbbing pain to go away.
Klaus, still really angry and wanting to fight, takes a step towards the female monk.
"Klaus! No! Stand down."
"GRRRRR. Fine." he snarls as he steps back while glaring at the monk.
"Huh. You are using detect evil on us, but you are casting it without components. As far as I know that's something only paladins can do. So... you are a paladin of Irori?"
Inga steps forward "Ow. my leg." and cocks an eyebrow.
"Or, she has psychic abilities like myself."She puts on the charm and speaks in a calm, relaxed manner.
"My friend, Grunjar here, speaks the truth. I am Countess Inga Blücher. We were sent here on behalf of our organization in search of a thief as well. An important illuminated manuscript was stolen. Perhaps we could work together in finding the thief, or thieves, we seek."
"I object to that characterization of our actions, but I apologize for the misunderstanding. I heard the voice of Irori warning of theives and acted accordingly." The other monks relax, seeing the battle is over. The lead woman continues. "I am called Pradnyara and you have observed correctly. If you will allow me, I shall heal the wounds we dealt and offer whatever services we can to determine who has stolen from us both."
"What do you mean by that?" Pradnyara seems puzzled at Drusilla's comment.